Stairway to Heaven
by asterphoenix247
Summary: In the summer of 1971, the year the Led Zeppelin's hit "Stairway to Heaven" releases, Doctor Leonard McCoy meets Law student Jim Kirk. What begins as a hunt slowly transforms into passionate love that would survive even past the grave. Its not until it is too late, does Leonard realizes how much his dark past has ruined his future. Mckirk with some Mcchekov. Angst


The city flew across his vision. He had been out for hours, running around San Francisco, humming the same tune he always caught Leonard mumbling whenever he was in the kitchen. His body felt like it was floating across the hard pavement even if his legs were killing him. His body, covered in sweat and damp from the California humidity begged him to stop but he was scared. He was scared that if he stopped running his thoughts would catch up to him and remind him exactly what day it was. His birthday. The same day that marked his father's death, 27 years also.

James Tiberius Kirk ran harder, pushing himself to exhaustion. He was close; he could make out his apartment in the distance and he wasn't going to stop running until he made it into his home. He pumped his arms at his sides and his breath caught heavily on his throat. _Almost there_. He could picture the sweet pitcher of lemonade on the table that Leonard had made for him but the sweetness of the drink would always be unmatched by the taste of his loves lips pressed against his when they kissed.

It took no time for him to make it to the apartment. Once inside he slammed the door shut, causing the old residence to shake from impact. Jim grabbed the hem of his tank top and fanned himself while kicking off his shoes at the door.

"Jimmy, that you?"

He could hear Leonard's voice and saw him poke his head out from the kitchen. He had a giant bowl in his hands and a whisk jammed right into the center of it. The bowl was pressed against the frilly blue apron Leonard had on and he didn't seem to give a damn how domestic he looked.

Jim smiled through the heat. Even the apartment seemed like it wanted to suffocate him. That was one of the few things that annoyed him most about San Francisco.

Letting the end of the tank top go, Jim frolicked through the small hallway. His short blonde hair stuck to the back of his neck along with everything else he was wearing.

"Damnit kid," Leonard went on, "you could have at least announced yourself or something. Who knows, who the hell, could be walking through these doors? I could have thought you were here to kill me or something."

"Well this, is me announcing myself, Bones." Jim leaned over and pressed his lips against the older mans. The kiss, it was sweet and passionate and everything about it made him want to melt in his own skin. Jim had grown used to the feeling in his stomach. It was as though butterflies were trying to engulf his entire being whenever he got too close to the older man.

Jim's hands found Leonard's hips through the fabric of the apron and he pushed him into the kitchen until the edges of the dirty, flour covered counter tops stopped him from pushing him any further. Like most kitchens, the counters held small items like a toaster and a coffee maker, but today was an exception. Used mixers, sat on the edge with food items such as milk, eggs, and butter. The warm room smelled pleasantly like sugar and he was sure the smell alone would give him cavities.

Leonard's free hand slipped over Jim's torso, over to his cheek and then to the back of his head where he gripped on his Jim's light hair. Leonard pulled Jim off, hair first and stared at the cheetah who had tried to devour its prey.

"The hell, are you doing Jim-"

"And you claim that _I_ never listen to you"

Jim leaned in once again to kiss the man who was still in his grasp but Leonard pushed him off when he had the chance. He was hot and tired from baking all day and the last thing he needed was this "lawyer wannabe" antagonizing him for sex. Leonard scoffed and took the bowl that was cradled in his arms and used it to push some things from the counter top. He went on, beating the batter the way he had before he was interrupted. He didn't react when Jim wrapped his arms around him and rested his chin on the nape of his neck. He could feel Jim shift as he licked his lips, grasp tightening against his middle.

"I never would have guessed domestic would look so good on you," Jim purred. "You should wear this more often, it really flatters your body."

"If you keep that sweet talk up, you're not going to get any of the cake."

"That's alright. I didn't really want any of it in the first place."

"What," Leonard snapped.

He threw the utensils he had in his hands against the dirty counter. Jim leaned off of Leonard, taking back his hands, knowing he had angered him by his comment. Jim was aware that for the several hours he had been out running, his partner had been inside slaving over the kitchen in preparation for his birthday. He knew he must have put a lot of effort in the cake, probably attempting to make it several times, despite the humidity not being in his favor.

Leonard gripped onto the side of the counter for support, the muscles on his shoulders flexing.

"I'm sorry Bones," Jim whispered, running a single finger down the older man's spine, "It's just that, you know I don't like my birthday very much."

With both hands Leonard pushed himself off the counter. He spun around and their eyes met. It didn't matter that Jim wanted to divert his eyes from the other, even though his face wasn't full of anger.

A sigh escaped Leonard's lips as he brought the back of his hand to Jim's cheek, "Damnit kid. You should have told me I got all this flour all over your face."

He proceeded to wipe off the substance the best he could with the cleanest side of his hands. Jim couldn't hold back a smile.

"It's alright if you don't want the cake. Just give it to your friends or something."

"It's not a big deal, I'll eat it, if that makes you happy."

Leonard leaned in a pressed his lips gently against the young man's in reassurance.

"But I want _you_ to be happy. So if that means you don't want the cake I'm going to be alright with that. I just want you to know that I'm going to love this 27 year old brat for the rest of my life and beyond that."

Jim smiled.

"I know Bones, I know."

Leonard's eyes snapped open with a start. It had been a dream, and sick and twisted dream. Jim Kirk would never see his 27th birthday and it was his fault.

All the senses of the real world came rushing back to him at once. The rotten smell of the prison bed was the first thing he noticed after waking up. The smell resembled death and Leonard McCoy knew exactly how death smelled like. Jim wasn't the first victim he had killed in his years but he was the one that Leonard had loved the most. Even a year after the event he could remember the way his hands gripped firmly onto the flesh of his loves neck and choked him to death. That sort of memory had never gone away. He loved the kid more than anyone, even more than his daughter. He was going to love Jim forever. It was simply written in his bones.

Leonard ran a hand over his chestnut hair, and could remember the way Jim used to grip tightly onto it as though his life depended on it. He hated himself more than anything for ruining the boy's life and knew he deserved what he was getting.

The silence Leonard found himself in didn't last very long. Before he knew it, clanking came from the cell walls and when he poked his head out he saw the prison guard.

"You awake princess," the guard taunted.

"Yeah I'm awake."

"Good, today's the big day you sonofabitch."

Leonard knew the day, he didn't need a reminder. It was Jim's 27th birthday. The 22nd of March and yet the guard wasn't referring to his lover's birth date. The court had ruled his execution for that day. He had his last meal the night before. His asked for Jim's favorite meal and a piece of cake. Jim hated his birthday more than anything but he felt like it was necessary to celebrate even without Jim there.

His prison warden had reminded him on several accounts who would witness his execution. Jim's friends of course. He knew them all. Spock, Uhura and Carol would all be there to witness, the man who killed their best friend, be executed. None of his relatives would be present. Not his beloved, 16 year old daughter, Joanna nor his ex-wife Jocelyn. He was going to die alone and had accepted that fact a long time ago.

"You're going to be transferred to another facility for your execution," the guard went on. "So don't get comfortable."

"How long until I get moved?"

"Ten minutes."

Ten minutes felt like hours. The prison was organized. They cuffed him like they always did, whenever they transferred him from one place to another and he was brought into the back of a car. They transported him to his execution site and his last minutes alive seemed to pass by like a blink of an eye.

Before he knew it he was in the execution chamber strapped tightly into his podium. The glass that separated the witness room was adjacent to his chamber.

The eyes of Jim's friends and the other witnesses let him know exactly how damned he was.

Leonard glanced around the white room, the last room he would ever see in his life. His executioner prepped herself. She grabbed the IV in her hands and stuck it in his arm.

"You alright?" she asked

"As alright as any man would be in this situation."

The woman gave him a light smile and nodded her head in response. His eyes followed her as she went to panel of injections that would soon be in his system. He had heard about lethal injections being used on prisoners for execution but never in his wildest dreams would he have thought this was how things would end.

The minutes ticked away. The big hand was nearly on the 12. Only a few minutes until everything would end. Leonard closed his eyes and pictured Jim vividly in his mind. His goofy grin and his wild blonde hair. He only wished he could hear Jim speak to him one last time and feel the pressure of his skin against his.

The podium raised in the last minute. One more damn minute until the chemicals were injected into his system. He could do this, he didn't have much choice. It was all ending in one minute.

"Any last words?"

The words rang in his mind as he faced the witnesses. He could tell what they were all thinking. Spock's hard look only confirmed he had disagreed with the relationship when it stated 3 years ago. Uhura seemed happy he was getting what he deserved and Carol… He liked Carol out of all Jim's friends, she looked heartbroken. The two lovers had been broken up so brutally and she was only sorry that things had to end that way.

"McCoy?" the voice came again. "Do you have any last words?"

Leonard knew nothing he would say would make a difference to them. No speech he could muster could possibly bring back their friend or make the feelings in their hearts heal. He made eye contact with everyone in that room for the last time.

"No, I don't."

There was a silent nod that passed around the execution chamber and his podium lowered. He shut his eyes tight, his only thought on Jim. His beautiful Jim, the boy that brought so much joy to his eyes, the boy that he would sing songs to when he was feeling down, the boy that made him feel for the first time in a very long while.

Leonard could picture him so clearly in his mind and he never wanted to let that image go. He loved him now, forever and beyond that.

He could suddenly hear the sound of clicks escaping the room. The trigger had been pulled and he could feel the flow of the injections rushing into his veins. The first chemical was Barbiturate; he knew it to be the chemical that would put him to sleep before they stopped his heart.

Leonard felt the sleepiness in his body, and the image of Jim, he held so tightly onto was slipping. His head rushed with last minutes thought but none of that mattered except for his last thought: _Happy Birthday Jim_.


End file.
